Reformatting and Cataloging Poetry Tapes

The cataloging, digital reformatting, Internet streaming, and creation of Encoded Archival Description finding aids for 1,340 audio recordings of readings by 425 notable poets.The Poetry Collection of the University Libraries, the State University of New York at Buffalo, seeks funding to reformat, catalog, and make accessible 1,340 cassette and reel-to-reel audio recordings of poetry materials. Dating between 1962 and 2000, the recordings fall into three categories: an archive of tapes from poetry readings and other unique events that took place in the Poetry Collection and elsewhere on the University at Buffalo campus; personal recordings that poets made of their own readings over a period of time; and libraries of tapes collected by various individuals and groups. The tapes will be converted to digital files by an audio specialist, item-level cataloging will be created for each tape, collection-level finding aids will be created for logical subsets of the collection, intellectual property rights will be investigated, and streaming sound files with associated metatdata will be made accessible on campus or more widely, depending on permissions.